A Body for Carrie
by lnvaderZlM
Summary: Carrie goes to extreme lengths for a chance at having her own body. But is having a body really all it's cracked up to be?
1. A Body for Carrie

**A/N: Hey! I'm sort of new to this whole fanfic deal, trying to figure out how all these buttons work lol. Anyway, it's been forever since I've had to write a story - I think the last time I ever did anything of the sort was in fourth grade! But I want to improve my writing skills, so please be as brutal as possible! Any tips you guys can give me would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance! And I'll hopefully finish this story before the end of the month.**

**Oh, and also, Carrie has always been my favorite character in the series. She's so cute! Anyway, on to the story!**

Carrie is different. She looked at her classmates – a balloon, a banana, a cactus…okay, maybe everyone at her school is different in a way, but Carrie is _different _different. She's a ghost.

She can't feel.

She can't eat.

She can't laugh.

These cruel facts depressed her…which is usually fine, because she likes feeling depressed. But lately, she's been feeling more depressed than usual. And this level of depression made her, well, _depressed_. She yearned for a body of her own. Not like when she possessed Gumball – she never planned on permanently residing in his body because one: he was a boy, which made her feel dirty, and two: it wasn't her natural body. _Possessing_ a body isn't the same as actually _having_ a body. Carrie was able to control Gumball just fine, but it felt unnatural, not to mention how twitchy her movements were and how freakishly undead she looked.

_I wish I had my own body…_ Carrie thought. She repeated this line several times in her head, as though impatiently waiting for her fairy godparents to grant her wish. _I wish I had my own body…I wish I had my own body…I __**wish **__I had my own body!_

It was no use, though Carrie knew beforehand that repeatedly wishing for your own body was unlikely to yield a result. She would need to find another way. Just then, she noticed Gumball and Darwin chatting next to her.

"So then, Penny leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and told me to have a great day at school!" Gumball recalls.

"Dude, that wasn't Penny. That was mom." Darwin says, obviously not amused.

"_Sigh_, can't you just let me live in my fantasy world?"

Carrie was desperate. Desperate enough to ask a goofball like Gumball for help. "Hey, Gumball, so I'm sort of looking for a body…"

"Whoa whoa whoa, we've been through this: you are _never _using my body again!" Gumball says.

"N-no no, that's not what I meant. I want my _own _body."

"Huh?"

"I don't want to _possess_ a body, I want to actually _have _a body."

"But…isn't _possessing _the same as _having_?" asks Darwin, genuinely confused.

"No! Well, sort of, but…you get what I mean! I don't want to invade someone else's body, I want my own body! I don't want to be a ghost anymore, I want to be alive!"

"Well, I _guess _we could help. Meet us in front of the graveyard tonight, and bring a shovel." Gumball says, still misunderstanding.

"You're _still_ not getting it!" Carrie yells exasperatedly. "I want a body of my own. It's like…remember when you possessed Tina's body? How awkward it felt controlling her?"

"Hmm, yeah. Wait, how'd you find out about that?"

"Banana Joe told me a story about two ghosts, one blue and one orange, possessing Tina last Halloween. It wasn't hard figuring out who they were. Anyway, that's how I felt controlling_ you _Gumball. And it's how I'll feel controlling any body other than one that actually belongs to me."

"Soooo how do we get you your own body?"

"I…don't know. Look, I'm really desperate. I need you to find a way. I'm willing to try any ridiculous method you come up with. I don't know how, but a lot of your little schemes somehow end up defying all logic and reason. Like your lucky helmet, or your dream sharing device."

"Yeah, I'm pretty aweso-wait, how did you find out about my dream problem?"

"When I'm bored, I like spying on people, especially you. I saw you and Darwin passed out on the floor of your room, sharing a dream. I've also seen you make out with your little homemade Penny statue. Most of the girls thought it was gross, but Penny thought it was sweet."

Gumball flushed red with anger and embarrassment.

"_That's _what that thing in the closet is? I thought that was Kenneth! _What's wrong with you?!_" Darwin yells in disgust.

"Well, since you _obviously _know so much about me, you _must _know that there's nothing I can do to help you." Gumball pouts.

"No, wait! _Please, _Gumball! You don't know what it's like, being cold and alone and depressed all the time!" Carrie begs. She puts on the cutest, most pathetic face she can muster. It looks pretty sweet, actually. She looks imploringly into Gumball's eyes.

And it works. His anger gives way to sympathy. "_Fiiiine,_" Gumball sighs. "Come to my house after school."

Carrie almost smiled. Almost. She was still a ghost. _But, _a lot of her depression lifted. That was as close to happy as she's ever been.

* * *

**A/N: Combined Ch1 and Ch2 cuz they were both pretty short lol. Shoulda done this in the beginning, but oh well.**

"All right, class! Today's lesson will be on Bender Rodriguez, the robot-turned-human. Now, Bender was…"

Carrie sighed as her baboon of a teacher droned on about another subject she didn't care about. She looked at Gumball and Darwin. Gumball had a glazed look in his eyes as he chewed away at his pen. Darwin had his usual goofy smile as he struggled to understand what was going on around him.

_I can't believe I'm pinning my hopes and dreams on _these _two, _Carrie thought to herself, letting out another sigh.

"Carrie!" a rough voice suddenly called. "Would you rather do a report on Gumball than on Bender? Because _clearly _you find him more interesting!"

Snickers from the rest of the class (and a jealous look from Penny). Carrie looked on, unfazed.

"What? I can't _help_ but be beautiful!" Gumball says, stroking his hair.

"Now, as I was _saying_: Bender, his self-control overwhelmed by his newfound senses, went on several hedonistic binges before dying after a mere week of living in his new body. It just goes to show that suddenly giving senses to those born without them is _very_ dangerous."

The bell rings.

"Class dismissed!"

_Finally, _thought Carrie as she floated over to Gumball and Darwin.

"So do you have a plan to get me my own body?" she asks.

"Yup! Meet me at my house in thirty minutes!"

"Whatever." Carrie says, floating away.

Despite her indifferent response, she actually _was _hopeful. Gumball's thought of something. And no matter how absolutely ridiculous that something was, by this universe's messed up logic, where cats marry rabbits and fish grow legs, it was bound to work.

Carrie found herself roaming the streets. It was something she liked to do, when she wasn't watching horror movies or reading dark comic books. She didn't need to worry about getting to Gumball's house in time – she could just teleport there. She passed by the local cinema, and decided to check out a random movie. Another thing she liked doing - sneaking into theaters, which isn't that hard for her, as she can phase through walls.

_'This is the End'_, Carrie thought. _Sounds like something I might like._

"Every**body **yeah, yeaaaaa-aaah"

"Rock **your** **body **yeah, yeaaaaaa-aaah"

That was all Carrie needed to hear. She stormed out of the theater. _How could the director be so insensitive? _she thought.

She continued down the street. People all around her were talking loudly.

"…Oscar, Sebastian, Fern…yup! Looks like every**body **is here!"

"Hey! Any**body **want seconds?"

Carrie checked her phone. There were still twenty minutes until she was supposed to meet Gumball, but she wasn't sure how much more of this verbal abuse she could take.

"Phew! Look at the **body **on that one!"

"Star **body**builder Sylvester Stallone has just broken another record!"

Carrie screamed. She couldn't take anymore. With a trembling green flash, she teleported away.

* * *

"_That's _your plan?" Darwin asked.

"Yep." replied Gumball.

"Cool! Let's not talk about it again until we get home!"

"Fine by me!"

The boys were in their dad's car, eating sandwiches. Suddenly, a blinding green light erupted between them. Once it faded, a certain ghost took its place.

"Carrie!" the boys screamed in unison.

"Hey guys. I…just couldn't wait to hear your plan. So what is it?"

"Oh, we decided not to talk about it until we're home." Darwin said innocently.

"O…kay."

"Want a sandwich?" he offers.

Carrie could feel anger building up in her again. _Doesn't he remember that I can't eat?_ she thought, but she accepted the sandwich anyway.

"Gee, _thanks_. Hey, Gumball, I'm actually not that hungry. Would you like this sandwich?" Carrie said as calmly as she could, though some (okay, a _lot)_ of her anger seeped through.

"Oh, no thanks," Gumball chuckled, not noticing how annoyed she was. "I already had two. I don't think I could fit anymore in my **body**".

Carrie flung the sandwich into his face and with another blinding green flash, teleported away, furious.

* * *

Carrie reappeared at Gumball's house. She checked her phone again - fifteen minutes 'til Gumball gets here. She decides to poke around through Gumball's things. The whole family should be out - the mother was at work, the sister had her after school activities, and the father was driving the two boys home. So she should be able to poke around unchallenged.

She decided to check out the attic first, hoping to find the ugly baby pictures Darwin once told her about. A hapless shoebox in the middle of the room catches her interest. She opens it and finds a photo album. _Bingo, _she congratulates herself in her head. Darwin was right - Gumball was, indeed, a very ugly baby. Carrie took a quick look around, then stuffed a few of the pictures in her pockets. It's a known fact among the girls that Penny pays top dollar for pictures of Gumball. She checked her phone. Just then, she hears a car pull into the driveway. She quickly flies down to the living room and lies down on the couch, trying to look as innocent as possible. The door opens.

"Hey Carrie! Ready to hear my plan?" Gumball asks.

Carrie nods.

"Okay. Sooo were you spying on me when I made Kenneth?"

Carrie recalled all the times she's spied on Gumball. She didn't recall a "Kenneth".

"Nope. Who's Kenneth?"

"He's mine and Gumball's baby!" Darwin proudly proclaimed.

Carrie gave Gumball a look.

"No! Not like that. We gathered up a bunch of gross things, and it suddenly came to life. We gave it _life_. Get it?"

Carrie's face instantly lit up. "How?"

"Well, we mixed a bunch of things into this thing." Gumball takes out an old jelly jar. "I think it might be magical! So here's what we do. We cram you and a bunch of ingredients into this jar, and that'll bring you to life!"

"Wait, I think I recognize this 'Kenneth' person you were talking about. Wasn't he that monster that rampaged through town? Am I going to end up like that?"

"No no, Kenneth turned out like that because he was made of gross things."

"What am _I _going to be made of?"

"Darwin did some research. Professor_ Darwin, if you please_."

"_Yes, assistant Gumball. According to various reputable sources, girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice._" Darwin says, imitating a scientist.

"...Well, okay. Let's do it." Carrie didn't even care how that made no sense at all. Again, in this universe, there are baboons that live for over 300,000 years, fish that sprout legs, and sentient balloons. This made tons of sense compared to that! So she let the boys cram her into the jar (she actually can't phase through this container - one of the weaknesses of ghosts. Other weaknesses include vacuums, garlic, and boy bands) along with "sugar, spice, and everything nice".

"Okay, all set! Now we just have to microwave it!" Gumball says, as though he thought Carrie was aware that was the next step (she wasn't).

"Wait, _**WHAT?!**_" Carrie yelled. Before she could protest any further, Gumball threw the jar in the microwave and hit the power.

The explosion was glorious.


	2. Breaking It In

**A/N: Ahhh it's late and I'm tired, but I won't have another chance to publish this until tomorrow night lol. I probably still need to proofread it a bit more, but lemme know what you think!**

Darwin's first thought as he surveyed the ruins of their kitchen was _Mom's in for a surprise when she gets home…_ He stood up. Gumball had a proud look on his face, and Darwin soon realized why. The smoke cleared to reveal Carrie, not a ghost anymore, but a living thing.

But that wasn't why Darwin's heart stopped. Darwin was in _love_. She was beautiful. He wanted her; he _needed her_, he would do _anything _for her. The last time he had a feeling this strong was when that foreign girl wearing the beautiful dress moved in, but Carrie blew her away. She was about the same height as Gumball, with matching arm and leg lengths. She had the perfect complexion with her pinkish-white skin; her black hair was tied up in a short ponytail; she kept the simple face she had when she was a ghost, but her fringe no longer covered her left eye; and she wore a red checkered shirt with black skinny jeans and black converse shoes, giving her the look of a rebel. He couldn't help but stare at her intently, romantically, _devotedly_.

_"She __**will **__be mine…" _he whispered.

* * *

"_Uuuuu…_" Carrie groaned, attempting to grasp the situation. Her entire body ached.

_Wait…_ she thought. _My __**body **__aches?_

She looked at herself. She wasn't a ghost anymore – she had an actual body, complete with arms and legs. Her lips curled into a smile as an incredible but foreign feeling swept over her.

_This feeling…is this what happiness is? I've been missing out!_

"So, how's the new body?" Gumball asks.

She looked up at Gumball and Darwin. Gumball looked smug, with his hands on his hips and eyes that said "check out what I accomplished today". Darwin just stared at her, his eyes taking the shape of two hearts. Another odd feeling swept over Carrie as their eyes met. Something in her chest started pounding, and she started getting nervous. For some reason, she thought of the time Darwin pulled her in for a big kiss at the Halloween party. She shook the feeling; right now, she wanted to let them know how grateful she was.

She reached out and gave the two of them a big hug. "It's great! Thanks, guys. You're the _best_." It felt good to hug them. Gumball felt soft and warm; Darwin felt smooth.

Gumball responded by shrugging and saying "I already knew that, but hearing it out loud is still nice."

Darwin just looked like he fainted. Carrie giggled.

"So what're you gonna do now?" Gumball asks.

"I dunno. What do people with bodies usually do?"

"Well…"

* * *

Gumball decided to take Carrie out for a night on the town to show her what having a body is all about. Darwin tags along, too, but mostly just to fawn over Carrie.

First they take her to Dessert Land.

"One Ice Cream Volcano, with extra sprinkles and frosting, please!" Gumball orders.

"Coming right up!" Larry, the cashier, responds.

"An _ice cream volcano_?" Carrie asks, thoroughly intrigued.

"Yep! It's this mountain of ice cream, and fudge erupts from the center!" Gumball explains.

Larry sets their order down. The ice cream brushes the ceiling, and Carrie gapes in amazement.

"Dig in! Hey buddy, aren't you gonna eat some?" Gumball asks Darwin.

Darwin doesn't hear him – he's crouched under the table, looking up at Carrie with sparkly eyes. Carrie looks down at him and giggles, sending him scurrying away, tripping at least three times before reaching the door.

"Umm, I gotta go get a makeover-_I mean_ make myself beautiful-_I MEAN_ play some games with Tobias! See ya!" he calls out as he makes his way out.

"Oh well, more for us!" Gumball hands Carrie a spoon. She takes it, and they tear into the ice cream. It tastes great! Carrie had used Gumball's body to eat before, but she never got to actually _taste _the food – she only experienced _Gumball _tasting it. Before long, they reach the cherry on top.

"Hmm, Darwin and I usually rock, paper, scissors for it, but seeing how it's your first time…why don't you just take it?"

Carrie blushes. "Thanks, Gumball," she says, popping the cherry into her mouth. It was delicious – she could see why they put it on top: saving the best part for last! "Mmmmmmm…"

Carrie practically pranced out the ice cream shop. Happiness was a great feeling.

"So, what's next?" she eagerly asked Gumball.

'Next' turned out to be a movie.

"_Despicable Me 2? _Umm, are you sure about this? I _hated _the first one. There was no death or darkness…"

"_That _was back when you were dead. Now you're alive, which means you should be able to appreciate the humor in it!"

"Well, okay!"

* * *

"_Un DER Weaaaaaar!_" a minion sang on the screen. Gumball and Carrie were laughing hysterically at it.

"Ha! The original song goes 'I swear', but the minions' gibberish makes it sound like 'underwear'!" Gumball points out the obvious.

As the credits rolled, Gumball and Carrie were still laughing.

"Ah, man. Movies are a _lot _better when pain isn't the only thing you can feel!" Carrie says.

"Yeah…well, it's getting late, I should probably go home and get some sleep." Gumball yawns.

"Wait, can you show me how to sleep, too?"

"You're kidding, right? You've never slept before?"

"Well…_no_. Does the phrase 'restless ghost' mean nothing to you?"

"Uh, basically you just lie down and close your eyes…"

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"…Would you mind showing me at my house?"

"Ehhh, I guess. It's really not that hard, though."

* * *

A few minutes later, they are in Carrie's room. Gumball is on Carrie's bed, demonstrating the proper sleeping position.

"So yeah, you just get comfortable, close your eyes, and eventually you'll fall asleep." Gumball explains. He yawned, but quickly shook himself awake. He had to be careful – it'd be pretty awkward explaining his sleeping at Carrie's house on Carrie's bed _next to _Carrie to his parents or worse, to Penny.

"O…kay. Scoot over, let me try."

Gumball gets off the bed. "Sorry, my mom says boys and girls aren't supposed to share beds unless they're 'together'".

Carrie looked confused, but she was too tired to seek an explanation. She just lay down and closed her eyes…

"My eyelids are getting heavy…"

"That just means you're doing it right. Well, I should get going before my mom gets worried. See ya tomorrow!"

"Thanks, Gumball," she yawned. Within a few minutes, she was asleep. Gumball turned out her lights and made her way out of the house. To his surprise and horror, he saw Penny, hands on her hips and an angry look on her face.

"Well, _someone _looks like he had a good evening cheating on his girlfriend!" she says fiercely.

_Uh oh... _Gumball thought.

* * *

**Note: this part takes place after school on the same day**

Penny didn't really feel comfortable with Carrie spending so much time with Gumball. She was staring at him for the entire class, and now Gumball invited her over to his house! She wanted to follow them, just to be sure they weren't doing anything behind her back, but she had cheerleader practice. Besides, Gumball liked _her_; everyone could see that. She just pretends not to know it to humor him. Any day now he'll confess his feelings to her.

"OUCH!" someone yelled. Penny was suddenly aware of where she was.

"Sorry Carmen!" Penny was supposed to catch her.

"What happened? You're usually so focused…" Teri asks.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about a certain someone…"

"Gumball, huh?" Carmen asks.

Penny nodded.

"Does it have anything to do with the fact that he invited Carrie to his house?" asked Molly.

Penny nodded again.

"Well don't worry – I heard Gumball was just helping her get her own body."

"Carrie's going to possess him again?"

"Nooo, something about her wanting her _own _body or something."

The girls looked at her.

"I didn't really get it either."

"Anyway…good practice today, girls. Remember, the game's in three days! I'll give you a day off tomorrow, but we're practicing the last two days, got it?" Carmen ordered. She was the head cheerleader, and a good one at that. She was dedicated to the team.

"Aye aye, captain!" the girls replied.

"Dismissed!"

"Hey, Penny, you wanna check out my new tree house?" Molly asks.

"You built another one?"

"Yup! Only this time, there's no tree…it's just a house."

"Sounds great, but I'm gonna head over to Dessert Land first for a milk shake. Some other time, maybe!" The girls split up after school. Carmen had another after school activity to tend to, Teri and Molly went over to Molly's new tree house, and Penny headed to her favorite dessert place. She still remembered the time she shared an ice cream volcano with Gumball. Darwin was there, too, but Penny liked pretending it was just her and Gumball. It wasn't that she hated Darwin, she just wished she could spend more time alone with Gumball.

Penny sighed as she reached the entrance to the ice cream place.

"Mmm, usually Darwin and I rock, paper, scissors for it, but seeing how it's your first time…why don't you just take it?" a familiar voice said. Penny was about to run inside and say hi to Gumball when another familiar voice responded, this one female.

"Thanks, Gumball." Penny perked up. Gumball was at a dessert place with _another _girl? She peered through the window. It was Carrie! And she was beautiful now! And, worst of all, she was _flirting _with Gumball! Penny wanted to storm in there and take her future boyfriend back, but realized she could be making a huge mistake. _Gumball wouldn't betray me like that…would he? _Penny thought. Sticking to the shadows, she follows the two of them out of the shop and into the movie theater. _A movie? What is this, a date? _Penny was on the verge of tears – she felt safe because she thought Gumball could never attract another girl's attention, but there were extraordinary circumstances…Gumball got Carrie a beautiful new body. She must have been grateful – grateful enough to be his girlfriend…

Penny very nearly screamed, but she held on to a shred of hope that this is just a misunderstanding. When the movie finished, they started walking somewhere. Penny had a feeling she knew where they were headed, but she didn't want to believe it.

Her suspicious were confirmed when they pulled up to an imposing dark, malevolent mansion – _Carrie's _house. As if just walking her home wasn't enough to break Penny's heart, Gumball entered the house with her! The evidence was overwhelming. Penny broke into tears. She wasn't sure how long she sat crying in the bushes, but she noticed Gumball leaving.

_I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind, _she thought.

She emerges from the bushes, puts her hands on her hips, and in the sternest voice possible, says "Well, _someone _looks like he had a good evening cheating on his girlfriend!"


	3. Unforeseen Consequences

**A/N: Another chapter! One of the scenes here is based off of that one scene in Arthur Goes Fourth, so yeah. Don't really wanna say which scene it is, 'cause that might spoil it. I'll point it out at the scene, I guess. Anyway, I'm sort of just making this up as I go along lol. I originally intended for this story to be like, Carrie gets a body, but it's not as great as she expected. But now it's...well, this. This story'll probably get wrapped up within the next one, two, or maybe even three chapters.**

**Oh, and BTW, I combined chapters 1 and 2, so yeah. This is the new chapter 3 lol.**

"Penny! It's-it's not what it looks like!" Gumball frantically tries to pretend he hadn't just spent a romantic evening with Carrie.

"Oh yeah? I saw you at the ice cream shop, followed you to the theater, then watched as you walked into Carrie's house!"

"I was just teaching Carrie how to use her body! And-wait…" Gumball realized something. "Did you just say you were my _girlfriend_?"

Penny recoils in shock, then looks at the ground and blushes. "Well, yes…why, do you have a problem with it?"

"Um, no, it's just…we're not_ official_ yet…"

"You wanna _make _it official…?" Penny asks, still looking at the ground, but peeking at Gumball.

Gumball's heart nearly explodes.

_This is what I've been waiting for! _he thinks. Penny's still looking at him, awaiting his answer. _Tell her yes, tell her yes! _His heart was screaming at him to finally get together with Penny. But…

"Um, uhh…oh, look at the time! I have to go check on my meatloaf!" he says weakly as he runs off. He turns back occasionally to see Penny in shock, then in sadness.

He runs for about five minutes before his legs give out. He kneels on the sidewalk, panting heavily. He was furious at himself – first, he cheats on Penny, then he practically dumps her!

Gumball started crying. He was on his knees, crying his eyes out on the road in the middle of the night. A nearby house lit up.

"Hey! Keep it down, I'm trying to sleep!" the resident calls out. Gumball ignored him and went on crying – it wasn't until he heard the door open that he scurried away.

It took an entire half hour for Gumball to get back home because when he sprinted away from Penny, he did so in the wrong direction. When he finally arrived, he flung the door open and went straight to his room. Darwin was admiring himself in the mirror.

"Dude! How do I look? Think Carrie would like it? N-not that I care what she thinks about me!...Did she mention me on your date…?" Darwin said. He apparently got a makeover after he left the ice cream store. He put on a pair of Gumball's pants and ripped them near the knee caps to give them a sort of "rebel" look to match Carrie's, and he had a full head of wild hair, which was most likely a wig. Gumball just ignored him and flopped onto his bed, pulling the sheets way over his head. Darwin shrugged and went back to checking himself out in the mirror.

Soon, Gumball drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

At Carrie's house…

Carrie had only been sleeping for about two hours when her dad started calling for her.

"Carrie! Come on, we're the ghosts scheduled the roam the streets aimlessly this week, remember?" her father called. When she didn't answer, he went to her room. To his horror, he found that his daughter was a ghost no more. "Carrie! _What have you done?!_" he screamed.

Carrie stirred awake. "Hrrrmrrmm… huh…?" she sat upright, stretched, and yawned. "Oh, hey dad. What's up?" It took her a moment to realize what he was so worked up about. She hadn't told them she got a new body. "Oh, _this_. Yeah, a friend helped create a body for me."

"Carrie…don't you know _anything _about ghosts?"

She thought for a bit. She really didn't know much about what her life as a ghost entailed, just that it stunk. Sure, she looked up some things on the internet, like how to exorcise spirits, and what their weaknesses were. But her dad seemed to have something else in mind.

"Carrie, we're not like the other ghosts, who are representations of dead people in the afterlife. We who are _born _ghosts, are born to represent tragic occurrences. There _has _to be a ghost to represent each tragedy – since you somehow aren't a ghost anymore, another will be created to represent the tragedy that _you_ were supposed to be representing."

"So? Let that person take my place."

"Carrie…in a case such as this, a ghost won't be _born_, someone will be killed, and their ghost will take your place, wandering the world in pain for eternity. And the powers that be are not likely to be kind to someone that betrayed their purpose in life…this person will probably be someone close to you."

That changed her mind. She didn't want any of her friends being forced to go through what she had to go through.

"Dad…what tragedy was I representing…?"

Carrie's dad hesitated for a bit. He didn't want to scare his little girl, after all. "It…had to do with love…" he explained slowly. "A man torn between two girls..."

Carrie gulped. _Gumball…_

* * *

That night, Gumball had a dream. It was another hangout session with Carrie, with him teaching her how best to use her newfound senses. After a day of playing arcade games and eating pizza, the two of them went to the beach to enjoy the sunset. To their surprise, they saw Penny there, on the edge of the cliff, her back facing the sea.

"Penny? Wha…what are you doing here?" Gumball asked nervously.

"I knew it." Penny said grimly. "I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it all along. You're choosing Carrie over me!"

"Penny, no! It's not what it looks like! I'm just-"

"I've seen enough. I-I can't live anymore. Penny Fitzgerald died in spirit when she saw you enter Carrie's house, today she dies in body…"

Penny leaned back and let herself fall over the cliff into the unforgiving rocks below.

"PENNY, NO!" Gumball screamed, running to the cliff, trying to catch her. He barely touches the tips of her fingers. All he can do is stare as her body gets smaller…smaller…then disappears from view. Gumball breaks down crying, but Carrie comes up from behind to comfort him.

"Gumball, I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry…" Carrie says, putting her hand on Gumball's shoulder. Gumball looks at her. He really did feel comforted. He felt that he and Carrie had something special together.

"No…" Gumball started.

Carrie thought he was just sad about Penny's death, denying that it had happened. How deathly wrong she was.

"No." Gumball flatly said. "I'm the one who's sorry." Slowly, mechanically, Gumball grips Carrie's arm, and throws her off the cliff after Penny. Gumball closes his eyes for this one, not able to bear the sight of another body slowly disappearing from view. He still hears the scream, though; first loud, then slowly fading away into the sound of waves crashing against the rocks below.

* * *

Gumball awoke in a cold sweat, panting, shaking. This was the worst nightmare he has ever had. He sat up, deep in thought. Had he really chosen Carrie over Penny? Was _she _the reason he didn't immediately say yes to Penny? Gumball thought long and hard, and decided that he was definitely still in love with Penny. Carrie was a good friend, and fun to hang out with, but that was it. He liked Carrie, but he _loved _Penny. His cowardice was the only reason he shied away from Penny's offer of love. Tomorrow at school, he planned to ask Penny to be his girlfriend. Reaffirmed of his devotion to his one true love, he went downstairs to get a glass of water. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Watterson residence." he answered.

"Gumball?"

"Carrie? What're you still doing up? Don't tell me you need me to help you sleep again…"

"N-no no, I'm fine. I…you weren't…thinking of suicide…were you?"

Gumball froze. He remembered his dream. Penny killed herself in his dream, because of him…

"Um, noooo…why?"

"…just wondering."

An awkward silence hung between the two.

"Well, okay, then. _Stay safe, Gumball…_" Carrie says, hanging up.

_Weird, _Gumball thought. What was all that about?

* * *

At Penny's house…

Penny lay face down on her bed, crying.

_He dumped me…_ she thought. _He really dumped me for Carrie!_

Penny thought Gumball was different…a lot of the guys liked Penny for her looks (most notably Tobias, whom Penny detested), but she thought Gumball liked her for, well…_her._ It seems she thought wrong, as he immediately dumped her when Carrie got her hot new body. And how could Carrie just go along with it? Penny used to like chatting with Carrie in the hallways, because she was always honest – _brutally _honest most of the time, but honest nonetheless. Among the girls, she was the one she felt most comfortable talking to about Gumball. But seeing her date Gumball behind her back so nonchalantly made her wonder how sincere Carrie had been all these years.

After hours of crying, she finally lay still, soundly sleeping.

* * *

Penny had a dream that night, as well.

It was a dream not unlike others' she has had before. She and Gumball were frolicking through a field of flowers, embracing each other, laughing, enjoying each other's presence. Then, the scene she had dreamed about many times – Penny, lying in Gumball's arms as Gumball leans down to kiss her…but this time, instead of being woken up by her alarm clock and drearily getting ready for school, another girl appeared – Carrie, in her new body. Gumball dropped Penny, and she watched in horror as he took Carrie's hand and walked away. Penny was heartbroken – she cried and cried, and eventually wound up at the edge of a cliff, watching the sunset. Then she heard two familiar voices behind her: Gumball and Carrie. She turned around to face them.

_"How could you…"_ she heard herself say. "How could you choose Carrie over me? We loved each other for nearly five years, then you just dump me for Carrie!"

Gumball remained quiet, gripping Carrie's hand. Carrie just stared ahead emotionlessly. Seeing the two of them together depressed her; Gumball's unresponsiveness depressed her more. Without thinking, she leaned backwards, letting herself fall over the cliff.

"PENNY, NO!" for a moment, she felt happy because she thought it was Gumball, but…

Penny woke from her dream, but something wasn't right. She wasn't in bed – she felt groggy; she had no idea where she was, or who was calling her name.

"PENNY!" it was her father, and he was on the roof. His image was getting smaller and smaller.

_Oh…_ Penny suddenly realized what had happened.

The pavement was cold and unforgiving as it shattered her back.

* * *

At school the next day, Miss Simian announced the news.

"Our dear friend Penny Fitzgerald has been admitted to the hospital in critical condition. Her father says she cried and let herself fall backwards off the roof of their two story house. Authorities are treating this as a suicide attempt. What drove her to do this is currently unknown, but let's hope whoever's responsible gets what's coming to him."

Gumball tensed up. He thought of his dream from last night, and wondered if he was the reason Penny did this. He looked back at Carrie; she looked sad, almost _guilty_, as though she realized Penny might have interpreted all the time Gumball spent with her as a date. Their eyes met for a moment, but Carrie immediately looked away. Gumball turned back around to the front of the room.

"Dude…are you gonna be okay?" Darwin asked sympathetically. He wasn't aware of what happened last night. Gumball hadn't told anyone about his meeting with Penny or his nightmare.

"Yeah…" Gumball replied.

Class went by slowly. Miss Simian gave a special lecture on suicide, what drives people to it, and how it can be prevented.

"One of the most common reasons given for suicides, both attempted and successful, and especially in teens, is heartbreak. Their spouse cheats, they get dumped, they-"

Gumball put his head down on his desk. He didn't want to hear anymore.

Soon, the bell rang, and Gumball ran straight to the roof for some fresh air. He leaned against the railing, peering over to see the ground below. It suddenly reminded him of Penny, standing at the edge of the roof, wondering whether or not to end it all...

Suddenly, he heard the door open. He didn't need to turn around to see who it was.

"Hey Gumball..." Carrie said. Gumball didn't turn around. He feared what would happen next, and if he would be able to control himself this time. Carrie started toward him, slowly but surely.

_Don't come any closer…! _Gumball begged in his mind. He wanted to scream at Carrie to back off, but he was scared of how hysterical his voice would sound. Soon, Carrie was standing right behind him. She put a warm, sympathetic hand on Gumball's shoulder. "I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry…" she whispered, with a voice smooth as silk.

Gumball felt his hand grip Carrie's, but could do nothing to stop it. He already knew what was coming; he was going to fling Carrie off the cliff after Penny, just like he did in his dream. Only this time, he covered his ears as well.

* * *

Gumball felt a rough voice pounding on his ears.

"GUMBALL! WAKE. UP."

_Huh?_

Miss Simian was practically screaming in his ear.

_Oh, it was another dream. Lame…_

"Well, Gumball, while you were sleeping, I decided to give a surprise test. And you _failed_."

Gumball didn't say anything.

Miss Simian sighed. "Look, I know it's none of my business, but…whatever happened between you and Penny…probably wasn't your fault. Don't beat yourself up over it." she said, making her way to the door. "I'll let you make up the test tomorrow."

Gumball sat at his desk for a while. Miss Simian's words were surprisingly comforting. But the first half was wrong, at least, that's how he felt. It _was _his fault – he cheated on Penny. He might not have purposely taken Carrie on a date, but somewhere in his subconscious, he knew that he _was _trying to make it a date; he wanted to see what a relationship with her would be like. And that relationship felt great. So great, in fact, that when Penny offered herself up on a silver platter, Gumball was uncertain that she was his one true love.

The door opened again. Gumball expected it to be Miss Simian, to tell him she was just joking, that he was a loser that killed Penny. But it wasn't.

"Hey dude! Come on, dad's already here to pick us up." Darwin said.

Gumball sighed, gathered his things, and went home.

* * *

Carrie rushed home as soon as the bell rang. She needed confirmation.

"Dad, what were the _exact _details of my tragedy?" she asked imploringly.

"I already told you, a man torn between two girls." he replied.

"But who died? And how?"

"The girl that the guy didn't choose, obviously."

"…" Carrie had completely misunderstood. "Tell me _exactly _what happened."

"Honey…"

"Dad, I'm twelve. And I used to be emo. I think I can handle a little tragedy."

"…Fine. Yours was the story of a girl who had found her soul mate. The two of you lived happily, frolicking through the flowers, embracing each other, snuggling. Then one day, another girl came, and stole the boy. The first girl was devastated – she cried and cried, then one day, when the boy asked for the second girl's hand in marriage, she hurled herself off a cliff."

That sounded familiar. She and Gumball had been frolicking around town, while Penny watched jealously. And from what Miss Simian said, she figured Penny had tried to kill herself by jumping off the roof of her house. Carrie felt guilty. Probably because she _was _completely guilty for Penny's death. But…Penny isn't dead yet. Maybe there's still time to make this right? She decided to pay her a visit at the hospital.

**A/N: Carrie's tragedy is based off of Brain's dream in Arthur Goes Fourth IV lol. **

* * *

Gumball sighed as he walked through the front door. Not even two steps in, the phone started to ring.

"You get it, dude. I'm goin' to bed." he told his fish friend.

"Okay!" Darwin skipped over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello!"

"Darwin?"

"O-oh! Hey, Carrie! Ahem," Darwin assumed the voice of a gruff, tough man. "I was just uh, doin' push ups. 97…98…99…100! Phew. Anyway, you need anything?"

Carrie giggled. "Yeah, I was gonna visit Penny in the hospital. Do you guys wanna come?"

Darwin's face lit up like Christmas. "Of course!"

"Great. I'll meet you guys there." She hung up.

Darwin nearly fainted. Carrie asked him out on a date! Then he remembered something. "I'll see you guy**s **there". So she wanted him to bring Gumball. Oh well, she was probably just thinking Gumball wanted to see Penny, too.

"Gumball! Carrie's inviting us to go see Penny! You comin'?"

_Please say no, please say no_, Darwin said in his mind.

"Sure, I'm coming down."

_Drat,_ Darwin thought.

* * *

By the time Carrie arrived at the hospital, Gumball and Darwin had been waiting ten minutes.

"I bet you miss being able to teleport anywhere, huh?" Gumball poked at her.

"Pfft. A small price to pay to be alive," she countered. _I hope Penny feels otherwise, _she thought. She noticed Darwin gawking at her. Feeling mischievous, she skipped over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, giggling when he fainted with that goofy look on his face. She got the idea from Rachel, who had done this same thing at her party. She was starting to understand the concept of love, and was pretty sure that's how Darwin felt towards her.

_But do I return his feelings? _Carrie thought. She shook her head, not in rejection of him, but as a reminder of what she came here for. She was going to save Penny from having to live cursed as a ghost.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go see Penny."

They went up the elevator, turned left, and entered the third room, just as the receptionist told them. "Penny F." the sign above the door read. Carrie pushed open the door and found…

…an empty bed. Gumball and Darwin reacted in shock. Carrie reacted in despair – she knew what had happened. She could only hope there was still a way to set things right.


	4. Night on the Town

**A/N: Another chapter! Ehehe, I was going to end it in this chapter, (and was even halfway through writing it), but I really wanted Darwin to hit it off with Carrie lol. Soooo now there's this. Hope this chapter is tolerable and not too cheesy X).**

"Where's…Penny?" Gumball asked slowly.

A passing doctor heard the question. "The peanut girl that was in this room? She was released about two hours ago."

"So she's all right?" Gumball was ecstatic.

"Hmm…" The doctor paused, unsure of whether or not to tell these kids of her horrible fate. Carrie did it for him.

"She's a ghost now…isn't she?"

The doctor was surprised she knew. "Yes. A most curious case – usually the ghost only emerges after being buried, and only on Halloween. And usually, mortals are unable to see them without the aid of special potions. This one, however, looked to be born as soon as she was declared dead, and everyone here was able to see her just fine."

Carrie's heart sank. Penny was a ghost now, and it was all her fault.

"Where is she now?" she asked.

"Her parents came to pick her up."

Carrie started for the door, but Gumball stopped her. "You don't seem to be surprised at what's going on…" he asked warily.

"I-I used to be a ghost, so I know about these things…" she said unconvincingly. Gumball looked like he was going to press further, but Carrie interrupted him. "Look, Penny needs our help right now. I'll explain everything later. I'm not even sure of the exact details myself. For now, let's head to Penny." Gumball reluctantly dropped it for now, and let Carrie lead the way to the Fitzgerald's house.

* * *

The walk to Penny's house was ten minutes of Gumball eyeing Carrie with suspicion, Darwin gawking at Carrie, and Carrie trying to pretend she wasn't aware of Gumball and Darwin's strange looks. When they finally arrived, Carrie knocked on the door. The trio waited in awkward silence.

"BOO!" Penny phased through the door, sending the three of them jumping. She laughed. "Hey, Gumball! Darwin!..._Carrie_…"

"Look, I don't know what you _think _went on between me and Gumball, but we're just friends, okay?" Carrie said.

"Hmph." Penny says, turning her back to her.

Carrie ignored her hostility. "Come on, we need to get you back to my house so you can get your body back."

"What if I don't want my old body back?" Penny asked defiantly.

"What?"

"Being a ghost is great! I can fly, I can phase through walls…I feel like a superhero! I don't know what _you're _always complaining about."

"I know, right?" Gumball says, remembering how awesome it was to fly around causing mischief on Halloween.

"Penny…okay, the first few days might be fun, but after that, you're left with being a depressed, deadbeat emo chick spending her days watching horror movies and pony vids…" Carrie warns.

"Then let me stay a ghost for a few days!"

"But what if there's a point of no return?..."

"_Ugh_…"

In a blinding green flash, Penny teleports away, leaving Carrie and Gumball stupefied (Darwin's had his eyes on Carrie the entire time, so he didn't notice).

"Well…guess she's got teleporting down…" Carrie remarks.

"Wonder where she went." Gumball says.

After a few seconds, Penny reappears with another flash of green.

"Where were you?" Carrie asked.

"At your house. Your dad said I have a week before the change becomes irreversible. See? No problem!"

"But what about the big game on Friday? You're going to need a body to cheer…"

"Fiiine. We'll get my body back tomorrow night."

"Fine."

Silence.

"Well? Are you done here?" Penny asked, still peeved at Carrie.

"Ugh." Carrie walks away. Darwin follows her.

Gumball is about to follow her, too, but Penny stops him. "Hold on. _You've _got some explaining to do."

* * *

Just outside Penny's house, Carrie and Darwin are walking home.

"I can't _believe _her! I try to save her from a lifetime of pain and misery, and she just shrugs me off!" Carrie complains. Darwin just continues staring at her. "You know what I should do? I should just leave her as a ghost! See how she likes constantly feeling depressed!" Darwin was still just staring at her. "Well? Don't you have anything to contribute?" He _still _just stared at her in admiration.

Carrie sighed. She enjoyed his admiration, like any girl would, but wished he would go further. What happened to the Darwin that was so bold as to kiss her, spontaneously and romantically? _That _was what she craved right now – a man.

They arrived at Carrie's house. "Well, I guess I'll see you around sometime." she said, disappointed that he hadn't made a move on her. She started walking to her door.

"Wait!" Darwin called out. Carrie perked up.

"Umm, I know a few fun places where I could…you know, help you get used to having a body and stuff, like what Gumball did…"

_Hee hee…he's asking me out on a date, but is too ashamed to admit it! _Carrie thought.

"Hmmm, yeah, okay. I could use more practice," she says calmly. Inside, she was screaming with joy.

* * *

Back at Penny's house…

"And that's what _really _happened." Gumball explained the entire situation to Penny from the beginning.

"Are you sure?" Penny asked.

Gumball nodded.

"Whew, that's a relief. I guess _I'm _the one that's been unfaithful – I should've known you'd never cheat on me, Gumball." Penny said.

"He he…"

Pause.

"Well, I guess I'd better head home. See ya!" Gumball said, turning to leave.

"Wait! Carrie's father said I have to roam the streets tonight, but that seems really boring. I was hoping you'd come so I have someone to talk to…?" Penny asked shyly.

Gumball wasted no time accepting. "YES!" he replied, a bit too loudly. "Uh, I mean, yeah, sure. That's cool. See you then!" he rebounds coolly, but trips twice as he walks away, to Penny's amusement.

"Meet me at Carrie's house at eight!" she called.

_Heh heh…it's…it's a date_ Gumball thought giddily.

* * *

At the local fair…

Darwin drags Carrie over to the _Stomach Destroyer_, the biggest, baddest, coolest rollercoaster in Elmore!

"A rollercoaster?" Carrie asked. "I never understood the point of those things. Just seems like a car ride to me."

"_That's _probably because you didn't have a body! Come on, this'll be fun!"

The two of them get in a car as the safety bar lowers, locking them in snugly. They start off slowly, climbing to the top of the first hill.

"Ooooh, I'm starting to get all tingly inside!" Carrie says.

"That's called anticipation…or maybe anxiety?...excitement?" Darwin looks unsure.

"Well, whatever it is, I _like _it!"

The car creaked to a stop as it approached the apex, hanging there for a while to build up suspense. It was working – Carrie was sweating in anticipation. Darwin was sweating, too, but for a completely different reason.

Eventually, it lurched back into motion, picking up speed _fast_. Carrie suddenly found herself raising her hands and doing some strange combination of screaming and laughing. Darwin was right – this felt great! She screamed and laughed louder and louder with every drop, loop, turn – practically every _second _of riding.

She looked over at Darwin – he didn't seem to be having as much fun as she was having. He was still smiling and shouting, but it just seemed that he was simultaneously thinking of something else. Carrie guessed what it was (she had seen this in a movie once – guy debates putting his arm over his girl's shoulder), and decided to put his mind at ease. She leaned over and hugged him tightly as the car went through the last loop, nearly causing him to faint. That just made her smile wider and laugh louder.

Soon, the car slowed to a stop. Carrie let go of Darwin and hopped out of the car, exhilarated. Darwin just sat there, glowing, with a smile on his face.

"Uh, Darwin? You all right?" Carrie asked, stifling a giggle.

"Haaaaa…?" Darwin realized that the ride was over. "O-oh yeah, just peachy! So, how'd you like the _Stomach Destroyer_?" he asked, saying "stomach destroyer" in his gruff voice.

"It was great! I've never felt so…_alive_." Carrie says, chuckling at the pun she made.

After getting their bearings, they continued to walk through the fair. None of it interested Carrie – snack booths, carnival games, nothing she hasn't seen before.

Then something caught her attention.

"Whoa…" Carrie sighed, gazing up at a huge, fluffy, pony plushie. She remembered watching _A Pony's Tail _a few weeks ago, and since then, she's become a huge fan of ponies. She's stayed in the closet about it, though, to avoid hurting her reputation as an emo. But now that she was alive…doesn't Gumball like ponies? And she's pretty sure Masami bragged about having an entire stable of them one time…

Darwin noticed her staring at the plush toy. He looked at the game – "Swim through a minefield! Collect five rings and make it to the end alive to win Twilly the pony!"

"Hmph, easy. Hey, skinny, set me up!" he waved a dollar in front of the game attendant's face.

"First you gotta sign these waivers." he said dully, handing Darwin a bunch of forms about things like, this game uses actual bombs, we are not responsible for grievous bodily harm, if you play this game, you're extremely stupid…

"Darwin, forget it. This looks pointlessly dangerous. I don't even really like ponies anyway…"

Darwin ignored her and signed the waivers. "_Bring it." _he says, accepting the challenge.

"Your funeral." the attendant shrugs. He opens the cage, and Darwin steps in.

"So I just jump in, collect five rings, and cross that finish line?" he asks, pointing about twenty yards away.

"Yeah. You can set off as many mines as you want; the game ends when you either cross the finish line, or die. Oh, and watch out for sharks." The attendant retreats to a safe distance, so as to not get hurt by the inevitable explosions. Darwin takes a deep breath.

"Uh, Darwin? You don't need to do this…" Darwin is too busy stretching to hear Carrie. "Seriously Darwin, this thing isn't worth it…" At this point, she wasn't sure whether Darwin was purposely ignoring her, or if he genuinely _was _focused on his stretching. "Darwin?"

Darwin prepares to jump. "See you at the finish line!" he says to Carrie.

"Darwin, NO!" he jumps. Instantly, there's an explosion. Carrie covers her eyes, unwilling to see another life ruined because of her selfishness.

"Don't worry, Carrie, I got this!" Darwin called out.

Carrie opened her eyes. Darwin was furiously swimming around the pool, gathering rings and avoiding the traps! After grabbing five, he darted towards the finish line, deftly avoiding the sharks and going around the mines. A few of the mines went off, but Darwin was so fast, that he was able to avoid the explosions.

"Done!" Darwin yelled triumphantly as he crossed the finish line. He started swimming back to the starting point, where a small crowd has gathered.

"Dude, that was _awesome!_" Tobias yelled.

"That's our swim team captain!" Leslie proudly stated.

"Darwin...you could have gotten hurt…" Carrie said, incredulous that he would risk his life for a stuffed animal.

"For you, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!" he replied, smiling as he handed her the prize.

_Heh. I forgot – he was doing it for _me_._

"Awwww…" the crowd of people say in unison. Cheesy, but still romantic.

As Darwin dries himself off, the game attendant leaned over and whispered to Carrie. "This fish is definitely a keeper, _don't let him get away._"

Carrie just blushed and hugged her new unicorn plushie tightly.

**A/N: Scene loosely based off of Surviving High School lol.**


	5. Ghost of a Shell of Her Former Self

**A/N: Another chapter! Lol, sorry if this night seems like it's dragging on too long. I'm not really sure how much longer the story's gonna be anymore. And sorry if there's too much DarwinxCarrie :P. Anyway, any and all reviews would be much appreciated!**

"So then, the seal says to his ogre friend 'Hey, wanna go clubbing?'" Gumball tells the punchline of his joke to Penny and laughs.

Penny laughed too, despite how tasteless it was, just so Gumball didn't feel bad. He probably just heard the joke online, without understanding what was so funny about it himself.

The two of them were walking up and down the streets aimlessly, as Penny (being a ghost) was assigned to that night. It was part of life as a ghost, or so Carrie's father said.

"Thirty more minutes before you have to go home, Gumball!" Carrie's father called out. He was being extra careful – he didn't want another "visit" from Nicole.

* * *

_Flashback to last Halloween, 1:00 AM, at Carrie's house._

_Carrie's father had just settled into his armchair and opened up an Agatha Christie novel when Carrie floated in looking panicked. _

_"Welcome home, sweetie. How was the party?"_

_Carrie jumped up in surprise. "O-oh, the party, yeah same as usual. I'm gonna go to my room now, bye!"_

_She flew up to her room, eyes wide and sweat pouring down her head. Carrie's father knew something was up. He started up the stairs to his daughter's room when he heard a furious pounding on the door._

_"Hey! Be careful, that door's an antique!" he yelled, heading to the front door. He opens it to find a furious Nicole with her three scared and confused children. "Ah, Nicole. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he said nervously, noting the steam pouring out of her ears and remembering her membership in the 'Anger Management' club._

_"Ah, Mr. um…uh," Nicole wasn't sure what his last name was._

_"Please, just call me daddy." Carrie's father teased, much to Nicole's annoyance. _

_"Mr. Carrie's Father, your daughter mixed up my children's bodies. Is there a way to fix them?" she asked sweetly._

_Carrie's father knew how to restore everything, but doing so would take a good two hours, and he was already so tired from haunting houses (actual ghosts were in high demand near Halloween season, and he capitalizes on it every year). _

_"Hmm, it'll have to wait until tomorrow, I'm afraid. I'm too tired right now."_

_"Well, allow me to __**wake you up**__." Nicole said fiercely, grabbing at him. Since he was a ghost, her hands touched nothing._

_"Ha ha ha, you can't threaten me. I'm a ghost!" he said, taunting Nicole. She was furious! Then, she got an idea._

_"Boys, hand me some of that potion you drank…" she ordered, smirking maliciously. Gumball did as she asked._

_"Umm…where did you get that?" Carrie's father asked, getting nervous. Nicole ignored the question and took a sip of the potion, enough to turn her completely into a ghost. She pounced on Carrie's father._

_"Hah, go ahead. I'm already dead! You can't hurt me-OH GOD THE PAIN!" Nicole twisted Carrie's father into various knots._

_"Your daughter kept my kids out WAY past their curfew! So you better fix them NOW, or I'll give new meaning to the phrase 'Gordian Knot'!"_

_"OKAY! OKAY, I'll FIX THEM! Just untie me!"_

* * *

Carrie's father shuddered as he walked away. It was another thing Nicole ordered him to do – leave the two "lovebirds" alone.

Penny and Gumball continued their walk, letting the moon light their path.

"Ahhh…isn't this romantic?" she sighed.

"Yeah…" Gumball replied.

Suddenly, everything around them melted away. It was just the two of them, floating in space, hands joined, gazing into each other's eyes. Gumball recognized this scene – it had happened twice before. Both times, there were distractions, but this time, there would be none. Gumball leaned forward; Penny did the same. They closed their eyes…

But Gumball soon found himself falling back to Earth. His face planted itself on the sidewalk, causing him to squeal in pain.

"Wh-what happened? Weren't we about to kiss?" Gumball asked, peeling his face off the ground.

"I-I don't know!"

"Oh wait…you're a ghost…" Gumball realized what went wrong.

"Yeah, so?"

"People can't touch ghosts…only ghosts can touch other ghosts. Or…that's how Carrie explained it, I think."

_Oh yeah…_ Penny thought. _Carrie had warned me about this._

Suddenly, Penny was filled with sadness and pain. Carrie was right – the novelty wore off fast, and now she just missed being able to eat, feel, and love…

_Must be how Carrie feels every day… _Penny thought, realizing how horrible and pitiful the ghost girl's life was.

"I guess I owe Carrie an apology…she's had it way rougher than me all these years."

Gumball just nodded, and they continued roaming the moonlit streets. Inside, he screamed in anguish over another failed kiss from Penny.

"Well, even though we didn't kiss…this was still a nice date…" Penny said sheepishly as their last thirty minutes ended.

"Yeah…" Gumball was overjoyed. _She _had called it a date, which meant that it really _was _a date! Not like her spider's funeral, where he was just there for moral support. This was an actual date – with love, and romance, and attempted kissing!

_It's only a matter of time before we start making out! (Whatever that means…) _Gumball thought.

"All right, time to go home." Carrie's father returned, ready to escort the two kids home. Gumball and Penny held hands the entire way.

* * *

At Penny's house…

"Good night, Gumball!" Penny called out from her room.

"Good night, my love! Er- I mean…wait, that _is _what I meant to say. I love you Penny!" Gumball calls back. Penny blushes.

"Watterson! Get off my property!" Penny's father called out from his room.

"Bye future father-in-law!" Gumball teased.

"Grrrrr…"

Gumball heard Mr. Fitzgerald digging around the tool shed. Then he heard the revving of a chainsaw.

"Ehehe, well, see you tomorrow Penny!" Gumball says nervously as he scurries off into the night.

Carrie's father just shakes his head.

* * *

At Gumball's house…

"Here's your brat." Carrie's father said, annoyed.

"Excuse me?" Nicole didn't much care for his tone.

"Um, I mean, here's your child, ma'am! Have a good night!"

"Mmhmm. You have a good night, too. If I see even _one _hair out of place, it'll be your last." She says menacingly, holding up a bottle of ghost potion. Carrie's father gulped and teleported away.

"So, sweetie, how was your date?" Nicole asked her son.

"It was great! We really hit it off. And we almost kissed!"

"_Almost?_"

"Well, yeah, Penny got turned into a ghost. She's going to get turned back tomorrow, though."

"Hmm. Well, get ready for bed, dear. Brush your teeth well so your breath smells nice and fresh for round two tomorrow!"

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

Back with Carrie and Darwin…

Darwin was walking Carrie home. Darwin no longer gawked at Carrie; he looked proud, having felt that he had proven himself to her. Carrie hugged her new pony plushie, indulging herself in the fluffiness. She was so distracted by the fluffiness that she didn't realize she was walking right into the Watterson household. Nicole looked at her son, beaming with pride.

"Oh, welcome home, Darwin! And who's your _girl _friend?" she asked, proud that both of her sons were spending time with girls.

"Oh, this is Carrie! You remember her, right?"

"_Carrie_? As in, the girl that kept you, Gumball, and Anais up past midnight? And in each other's bodies?"

"O-oh, hi, Mrs. Watterson. You remembered that! Hehe, um…sorry?"

"Oh, it's fine…I'm just glad Darwin found himself a girl!" Nicole said proudly. Suddenly, something worried her. Darwin was really naive, and she remembered Carrie was a punk rock sort of chick...what if she pressured him into doing a certain something?

"Uh…you guys didn't…_do _anything dangerous, did you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh, don't worry, we used protection!" Darwin answered innocently.

"**_You WHAT?!_**" Flames erupted from behind Nicole.

"N-no no! What he meant was…well, I don't know _what _the heck he's trying to say, but we didn't do what you think we did!" Carrie quickly explained.

"What's the problem? We wore the protective equipment when we went roller skating…"

"Oh…" Nicole and Carrie said in unison. Nicole was relieved.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow, sweet cheeks!" Darwin said, blowing Carrie a kiss.

"Um, bye?" Carrie responded. _He isn't going to walk me home? _she wondered.

"Darwin! It's dangerous at night! Shouldn't you walk Carrie home?" Nicole said.

"But…it's almost my bedtime…" Darwin replied.

"Bedtime? What bedtime?" Nicole pretended she hadn't set a strict 9:30 bedtime for her kids, so he didn't look lame to his hot girlfriend. She tried to wink to him, to get him to understand what she was trying to do, but it failed.

"Why are you winking? Oh my gosh, are you having a stroke?! CALL THE HOSPITAL!"

Carrie laughed.

Nicole sighed. "Darwin, walk your girlfriend home."

"Okay!" he said, taking Carrie's hand and walking…in the opposite direction of Carrie's house.

Anais saw the whole thing. "Mom, he's going the wrong way."

"I know, dear. I'll get the car…"

* * *

Darwin started dragging Carrie in the opposite direction of where here house was.

"Um, Darwin? We're going the wrong way." she giggled. His naivete was so cute, when it wasn't causing gross misunderstandings. But then...

"I know." he said matter-of-factly.

_Huh?_

"Um, then where are we going?"

"Well, Mrs. Mom said I don't have a curfew for tonight, so I figured I'd take you to one of my favorite places!"

Carrie didn't know where he was taking her, but she couldn't wait to get there.


	6. Impatient

**A/N: Ahhh, I feel like Carrie and Darwin's relationship is starting to get almost as cheesy as Carmen and Alan's lol. Anyway, thanks for reading this far, and sorry I keep delaying the ending lol.**

**Also, sorry if this chapter seems a bit short. But I felt like this chapter sort of _had _to end where it did lol. Hopefully now I'll actually move on with the story instead of more CarriexDarwin stuff.**

"_Wow…_" Carrie sighed in awe, viewing the full moon's reflection on the ocean. It was breathtaking…

"Yeah, the moon's nice and all, but what I really wanted to do is take you for a swim!" Darwin said.

"A swim?"

"Yeah! I've never seen you swim before. Every time we go to the pool for gym class, you're always on the side."

"Well, yeah. Ghosts can't swim. We sort of just go through the water."

"Well, you're not a ghost anymore. So come on!"

Darwin took his shoes off and stepped into the water. Carrie wasn't sure what she was supposed to take off. She remembered Penny only taking her shoes off, keeping her shell on. So Carrie decided to do the same, taking her shoes off and wading towards Darwin.

_"Brrrrr,_" Carrie shivered. "It's cold…"

"Come on over here!" Darwin called from farther out.

Carrie began walking over, but soon found herself up to her neck in salt water. A wave gave her a good mouthful of seawater.

"I can barely reach the floor! Aren't I going to drown?" she sputtered, reeling from the strong salty taste.

"Just float!"

"But…I'm not a ghost anymore…"

"Not like that! Like _this_," Darwin says, demonstrating how to tread water. Carrie tried to imitate him, but she just sank. Darwin rushed over to pick her up. "Here, watch closely." He moved his legs in circles, like an eggbeater while waving his arms forward and back. "Now _you _try."

Carrie tried mimicking his movements, but she couldn't get it quite right. Suddenly, Darwin swam behind her and held her arms. "Like _this…_" he put his legs inside hers and demonstrated the proper technique again.

"_Whoa!_" Carrie blushed.

"Oops! Am I hurting you?"

"N-no no, it's not that…" Carrie smiled, turning red. _It just feels nice, having you get so close to me like that..._ she thought shyly.

"Well, d'you think you know how to float now?"

"Lemme try…" Carrie followed Darwin's example, spinning her legs in circles and waving her arms back and forth...

And floats!

"Wow! It's like I'm a ghost again!"

Carrie was so jealous of mortals – by just setting foot in the ocean, they could pretend to have all the powers of ghosts!

Carrie and Darwin swim harmoniously in the moonlit waters for a while. Darwin, being the synchronized swimming team captain, performed a part of a routine he wanted his team to do. The rest of the team could never keep up, but Carrie, having had much experience floating, matched his movements beautifully.

After about thirty minutes of dancing, Carrie began to prune up.

"Um, what's happening to my hands? They feel so…dry…" Carrie asks, confused.

"Oh, you must be pruning up. That happens to Gumball all the time. Mrs. Mom says that it means it's time to go home." Darwin said, heading towards shore.

Carrie was a little sad. She was having a lot of fun, after all. But her parents were probably worrying about her by now.

"Okay, I'm ready." she says, following Darwin out and putting her shoes back on. Her clothes were soaking wet, her hands felt like raisins, and she was freezing.

_But it was TOTALLY worth it, _she thought, remembering Darwin putting his arms around her, and their little dance. If only there had been romantic music playing, like in the movies!

After Carrie dried herself off a bit, Darwin started walking her back to her house. He was skipping and humming and smiling all the way.

"You seem happy." Carrie commented.

"Well, yeah! I feel like our date went well!"

"This was a date? I thought you were just…what was it? 'Helping me get used to my new body?'" Carrie teased.

"Oh…oh yeah, that's what I meant. I feel like my _lesson _went well!" Darwin said, looking a little disappointed. Carrie laughed.

"I was just kidding, I had a great time on our _date_." she said, giving him a friendly punch in the arm. She suddenly thought of something that would be _awesome _to do. "You know…now that I've 'completely turned into a mortal'…I can finally do _this_."

She echoes Darwin's words from last Halloween, grabs his fishy head, and pulls him in for a huge, romantic kiss. Darwin completely loses his cool and faints, a glowing smile plastered on his face. Carrie just laughed and started shaking him awake.

A short distance off, Nicole witnessed the whole thing from her car.

"Awwww, that's so sweet…but she'd better not go any further, or I'm getting out of this car…" Nicole said to herself. "Well, Darwin seems to know what he's doing, unlike my other son...guess I'll just head home, and why am I talking to myself…?"

Nicole drove off into the night.

* * *

Darwin resumed his skipping and singing and smiling, only he was louder, happier, and more in love than before. Carrie just laughed and held his hand. Soon, they pulled up to her house.

"Well, I'd better get going," Carrie said. "I had a great time, Darwin…"

"Me too."

Silence.

"See you tomorrow!" they said in unison, causing both of them to laugh. Carrie gave Darwin one last peck on the cheek and jogged off to her front door. She turned around in time to see Darwin with his good old goofy smile, touching the spot on his cheek that got kissed. Carrie waved, opened the door, and entered. Something wasn't right, though...

"Oh my _gosh!_" Carrie exclaimed, witnessing the shambling ruins of her house. Her father was lying in a crater on the floor. "Dad, what happened?"

He spat out a tooth. "Carrie…you're still a mortal?"

"Of course I am! We're not changing until tomorrow, remember?"

"But…then…who?" Carrie's father was at a loss for words.

"Dad, who trashed the house?" Carrie asked. She suspected a familiar blue feline...but:

"_You did." _was her father's cryptic response.

_What?_

* * *

At Penny's house…

_Tonight was great... _Penny thought as she lay in bed. _Gumball's so romantic and sweet..._

Her thoughts of the date were interrupted by her father's call.

"Penny!" her father exclaimed.

"I'm in my room, dad!"

But then…

"You got your body back? That's great!"

_Huh?_

Penny phased through the floor to get into the living room, and to her horror, she saw her old body facing her father.

"Well, you'd better get some sleep, dear. You've got school tomorrow."

"Dad, wait! That's not me! I'm right here!" Penny cried out. It was futile – it was as though her parents couldn't see her…

"Dad!" she flew right in front of him. He just walked through, leaving her confused.

_What's going on?_


	7. Double Trouble

**A/N: Hi! Sorry if I'm not updating as often as I should be lol. School just started and all, finishing my first week. Anyway, here's a chapter I wrote in my spare time! Also, I reserve the right to completely redo this chapter, just in case I later regret posting this :p. I dunno, I might just change the direction the story goes. Like literally, I was going to post this chapter thirty minutes ago, but decided to make a pretty drastic change to the reason the doubles are there lol. That might happen again later.**

"So you're saying I just barged in here as a ghost and started wrecking everything?" Carrie summed up her father's story. He nods.

"You were firing blasts of glowing green energy everywhere. I don't know _where _you learned to do that. Ghosts shouldn't be able to do that; that only happens in movies and TV." Carrie's father explained.

Carrie was confused. "I'm guessing it has something to do with me having a body?"

"That seems to be the case."

"Should we bump forward the 'me dying and Penny living' ritual to tonight, then?"

"It's a little late, but yes. We can't have you, or whoever that was, running around town."

"Okay, I'm off to fetch Penny." Carrie starts heading towards the door.

"I'll do some research while you're gone." Carrie's father started for his study.

* * *

Carrie ran as quickly as she could to Penny's house. When she got there, she frantically knocked on the door. Mr. Fitzgerald answered.

"Little girl, do you have _any _idea what time it is?" he bellowed.

"Sorry sir, but I _really _need to speak with your daughter. Like, right now. It's an emergency!"

"She's sleeping. I'm sure it can wait 'til tomorrow."

"Uh, _no_, it can't. The fate of the city is at stake!"

Mr. Fitzgerald responded by slamming the door in her face.

"Wait! Let me in!" she cried futilely. "_Ugh!"_

_If only I were still a ghost! _Carrie thought. _Then I could just fly through to Penny. Or wait…if I _was _still a ghost, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!_

She stared at the door for a few moments, thinking of whether to knock again. She decided against it, and instead, looked for a way to sneak into the house. Before long, she saw Penny's window open, as if beckoning her in. She started climbing – it was harder than it looked! But eventually, she made it. Penny stood there, staring at her blankly, as if she were expecting her.

"Penny! Thank goodness you're all right. Look, something's come up, we need to get you your body back right no-…huh?" Carrie stood, dumbfounded at the sight of Penny. She wasn't a ghost anymore – she had her own body back. "Penny…? How'd you get your body back?"

Penny just continued staring at her. "Penny…?" Carrie began getting nervous. Something wasn't right. She thought for a bit. A _ghost _looking exactly like she did as a ghost came to trash her house. So that means…

"You…_you're not Penny…_" Carrie said breathlessly. In response, the peanut's mouth curled into an evil smile. "What have you done with her?!"

In a flash, Penny's doppelganger dashed to Carrie and kicked her, _hard._

"Oof!" Carrie grunted, the air being knocked out of her.

Unrelentingly, Penny's doppelganger began whaling at Carrie. Penny was already athletic; Carrie had no experience fighting. If someone _tried _to fight her, all of their hits would go right through her. Now that she has a body, though…enemies have something to hit.

_Ugh…is this what actual pain feels like? I can't believe I used to like this… _Carrie thought.

With one more hard kick to the gut, Carrie fell to her knees, clutching her stomach. It took nearly all of her strength to just look up at her assailant. To her horror, a second figure had joined the fight, rising from the floor. It was her ghost body…it, too, had a sinister smile on its face.

"Who…are you guys?" Carrie asked weakly.

They remained wordless. Carrie's doppelganger started charging up a blast of green energy. Her hands glowed, signaling her readiness to fire. Carrie closed her eyes, unsure of what would happen when it hit her. Who knows what happens when a _ghost _dies, after all?

Suddenly, some invisible force knocked the Carrie doppelganger to the ground and pinned her arms.

"Huh?" Carrie asked, confused. Penny's doppelganger also looked, but apparently it noticed something and went to try to pull whatever the invisible force was off of her teammate. Carrie saw an opening. She grabbed a lamp and charged at Penny's doppelganger, smashing it against the peanut's head. The body wobbled for a bit, then slumped over, knocked out cold. She quickly tied its hands and feet with the cord, then turned to face the pinned ghost.

Carrie was unsure of what to do next. Her mortal hands would be unable to touch the ghost's body. But she didn't feel right just abandoning the force that just saved her life.

"Um…do you need help?" she asked awkwardly.

No response, other than Carrie's doppelganger struggling. Somehow, Carrie knew that the invisible force was telling her to run and get help. Hesitantly, she left. With one foot out the window, she thanked her savior, then started running back to her father's house, hoping he found out what the heck was going on here.

* * *

**Note: This takes place at the same time as the above.**

Penny sat on the roof of her house, thinking about her terrible situation.

_No one can see me…hear me…touch me…_ she thought. _Sigh, being a ghost sure is miserable…_

Suddenly, she heard frantic footsteps approaching her front door.

"Carrie!" she yelled, recognizing the figure. "Carrie, over here! What's going on? Why can't my parents see me?"

Carrie just walked up to the door and rang the doorbell like mad.

"Carrie?..." Penny's heart sank at the realization. _She can't see me either…_

"Little girl, do you have _any _idea what time it is?" Penny's father bellowed.

"Sorry sir, but I _really _need to speak with your daughter. Like, right now. It's an emergency!" Carrie responded.

"She's sleeping. I'm sure it can wait 'til tomorrow."

"Uh, _no_, it can't. The fate of the city is at stake!"

Mr. Fitzgerald responded by slamming the door in her face.

"Wait! Let me in!" Carrie cried futilely. "_Ugh!"_

Penny watched interestedly. _Looks like Carrie realizes what's going on. Maybe she's here to fix it? _she thought.

She watched as Carrie simply stared at the door in defeat. Penny remembered leaving her window open. She flew to it and, sure enough, it was still wide open.

"Carrie! Over here! The window's open!" Penny cried out, hoping Carrie would hear her. Though Carrie still couldn't see or hear her, apparently Penny's message got through. Carrie immediately noticed the open window and started climbing to it. But when she got up…

"Penny! Thank goodness you're all right." Carrie said to Penny's doppelganger. "Look, something's come up, we need to get you your body back right no-…huh? Penny…? How'd you get your body back?"

"Carrie, no! That's not me! The real me is over here!" Penny cried out. It looks like she was wrong. Carrie wasn't aware of what happened to her. So why did she run over here looking so panicked?

"Penny…?" Carrie asked, looking a little nervous. It suddenly dawned on her. "You…_you're not Penny…_"

In response, the doppelganger's mouth curled into an evil smirk.

"What have you done to her?!" Carrie cried out.

In a flash, Penny's doppelganger dashed towards Carrie and kicked, _hard_.

"Carrie!" Penny cried, her hands over her mouth. She tried to grab her doppelganger in an attempt to hold her back, but her ghost hands just went through. Violently, unrelentingly, the doppelganger repeatedly struck Carrie.

Eventually, Carrie dropped to her knees in pain. Penny could hardly bear to watch. She knew the death blow was coming; she flew outside and covered her eyes.

_"Oh, Carrie…"_ Penny said softly, sobbing a little.

A crackle of energy shook her from her grief. She looked back at her room: there was a huge green light emanating from the center. She flew back in and saw…

"Carrie?!" she exclaimed. The source of the energy was Carrie, in her ghost form. She looked on the floor – Carrie in her human form was still there, on her knees, eyes shut. It was pretty obvious who the real Carrie was. Viciously, vengefully, Penny pounced on the ghost Carrie and pinned her arms to the ground.

"Get away from my friend!" she cried.

She felt arms trying to pull her off. It was her doppelganger; fortunately, since she was a ghost, the doppelganger couldn't touch her.

"Hah!" she laughed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carrie grab a lamp and charge at Penny's doppelganger. "No! Not that lamp! That was expensive!" Carrie didn't hear her. With a huge cracking sound, the poor doppelganger was knocked out cold. Carrie immediately tied her arms and legs with the cord, and turned to face the Carrie doppelganger. She paused, not knowing what to do.

"Um…do you need any help?" Carrie asked awkwardly.

"Carrie! Get out of here! You can't help anymore, anyway. Go get Gumball, or your dad, or whoever can help us!" Penny cried, hoping Carrie would hear her.

Carrie stood still for a while, obviously pondering whether to stay and fight, or run for help. Penny prayed she would choose the latter.

And she does.

"Thanks," Carrie said gratefully. She leaps out of the window and runs off into the night.

"No problem. And…I'm sorry…you were right - being a ghost _is _terrible…to think that this is how miserable you feel every day…"

* * *

"DAD!" Carrie cried, running up to her house. "DAD, Penny's old body came back to life, too!" she sputtered. Her entire body still ached from the beating she had just endured. It took all her strength to make the sprint back to her house. It felt like her lungs were about to explode.

"Carrie! Quick, bring Penny in here!" her father called out urgently. "We need to switch you back _NOW._ I found out what's going on: we need t-" he stopped, horrified at the condition his daughter was in. "CARRIE! What happened to you?!"

"Penny's old body..." she said panting, still tired from running here, still in massive pain from the beating she took. "beat me up. My old body was about to finish me off, but some invisible thing distracted it."

"Carrie, it's worse than I thought..."

"What's going on, dad?"

"First, you need to call your little blue cat friend over."

"Why?"

"Just do it. I have a feeling I know what happened to your other friend. I'll be right back." Carrie's father teleported away.

Carrie walked over to the phone and dialed the number. But...

_What does Gumball have to do with this?_ she couldn't help but wonder.


	8. The Eleventh Hour

**A/N: Another chapter! I think we're nearing the end. Enjoy! And thank you for all the helpful reviews! It's been a lot of fun writing this story :)!**

**Also, I'm in a rush right now, so I'll proofread it later lol.**

"I'm sorry, Gumball. It's just not working out, what with you having a body and all…" Penny says as she flies off with her new ghost boyfriend.

Gumball was on the roof of his house, pleading for Penny to stay with him.

"Penny, wait! I'll turn myself into a ghost too!" he says, jumping off the roof without hesitation. A sickening splat sound reverberates around the immediate area as he hits the pavement. His plan works - he emerges from his body a ghost, but…

"All ghosts belong in the _underworld_…" a deathly voice whispers. Dark, shadowy hands emerge from the ground, dragging the blue kitten ghost down.

"Wait! Wait, just let me kiss Penny once! Please!" Gumball pleaded futilely. Soon, he is surrounded by darkness. He tried to scream, but no sound came out of his mouth…

* * *

Gumball awoke with a start. He was sweating profusely – if someone looked at his bed, they would probably think he peed. Groggily, he walked up and went to the kitchen for a glass of water.

_Hmm…déjà vu…_ Gumball thought as he gulped down the water. He looked at the phone expectantly.

As if on cue, it began ringing. "Watterson residence." Gumball answered.

"Gumball…" it was Carrie again.

"What is it this time?"

"Something strange is going on. I…I'm not sure what it is, but my dad says you need to come over. _Right now_."

"Can't it wait 'til tomorrow? I'm exhausted…"

_And depressed... _he thought to himself.

"No. Look, mine and Penny's old bodies appeared out of nowhere and started beating me up. We need you _now_."

That caught Gumball's attention. Penny's old body? Maybe he'd get a kiss! But wait…

"They _beat you up_?"

"Yeah. I don't know what's going on, which is why you need to come here!"

This sounded serious. Resignedly, Gumball agreed to come over. "Fine, I'm on my way."

"Good. Hurry!"

Gumball hung up. He decided to drag Darwin along with him. After all, he's just as involved in this mess as he is. So why should he have to go it alone?

"Darwin…Darwin, _wake up_." Gumball whispered. Darwin continued sleeping peacefully. "All right, I didn't want to have to do this, but…" Gumball said as he flashed his claws. This was something Darwin absolutely _hated_. His cheeks were so fleshy and rubbery that they were perfect for pinching. And what better way to pinch than with claws?

"OOOOO-OOOW…" Darwin squealed. "What?"

"Carrie's in trouble – we gotta get to her house. And keep your voice down!"

Darwin's face lit up. "Why didn't you just say so! I'm coming, my princess! Your knight in shining armor!"

Gumball facepalmed.

* * *

"Uuuu…" Penny moaned. She had been holding Carrie's doppelganger for about twenty minutes, and it was tiring work – it struggled continuously, relentlessly. It didn't seem to be getting tired at all. Penny wasn't sure how much longer she could hold it…

Suddenly, a flash of green blinded her for a second. It was Carrie's father.

"Penny! Thank goodness you're all right!" he cried.

"No…don't…untie her…that's not the real Penny…" she said exhaustedly. Not that it mattered. He probably wouldn't be able to see her. But…

"Of course she's not the real Penny, _you're _right there!" he said, looking directly at her.

"Huh? You can see me?"

"Well yeah. Ghosts can see other ghosts, you know…"

Penny was elated! So she hadn't disappeared off the face of the Earth. "What's going on with me? Why can't anyone else see me?"

"It's a long story. For now, teleport to my house. I'll take care of _this _Carrie." he says, hitting the power on his vacuum cleaner.

Penny did as she was told. The last thing she saw before entering the teleportation matrix was Carrie's father sucking up the other ghost with the vacuum. She couldn't help but chuckle at the silliness.

* * *

**At Carrie's house…**

Carrie stood in the doorway of her house, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently, waiting for either Gumball or her father to show up. After what seemed like forever, he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching quickly. She opened the door.

"So...what's the emergency?" Gumball asked, panting from the trip. A look of shock and pity flashed across his face when he saw Carrie's condition. Darwin got angry.

"I don't know." she responded flatly.

"Hmm…" Gumball was hesitant to push further, given her condition.

"Who did this to you?" Darwin asked, his fists up, ready to defend his girlfriend's honor.

"Penny's old body." She paused. "That's all I know about the situation at the moment. My dad said he was getting Penny."

A tense silence hung around the three of them as they sat in the living room.

"So…do you need any help or anything?" Gumball asked, noting her several scratches and bruises.

…

"Water." she said curtly after a long pause. Gumball ducked into the kitchen to fulfill her request. Darwin shifted closer to Carrie.

"Um, are you all right? You seem a little…angry." he asked cautiously.

Carrie looked at the floor and sighed. "It's just…I didn't realize how many drawbacks there are to having a body. Pain feels horrible…as I was getting beaten to a pulp, I couldn't help but think of how I used to like this feeling…" Carrie started. "Then there's having to use the bathroom, walking instead of floating or teleporting, guilt…" By then, Gumball had returned with a glass of water. Carrie took it and drank it all.

"What do you feel guilty about?" Gumball asked.

Carrie suddenly remembered – she hadn't had the time to tell them _why _Penny became a ghost. "Well, have you ever wondered why Penny just suddenly turned into a ghost like I used to be, instead of like the ghosts that were at the Halloween party?"

"The ones that can only come out on Halloween?"

"Exactly. Well…it's because I suddenly got a body. Which upset the balance of the universe. You see…I was _born _a ghost. When you're _born _a ghost, you're born to represent some tragic event. Mine was the suicide of a maiden who had lost her beloved to another girl. Sound familiar?"

Gumball nodded. He remembered how jealous Penny got after he spent a night with Carrie.

"It was mostly to punish me, apparently. For betraying my purpose in life - or _death, _if you wanna get technical. Anyway, they chose her because she was close to me. Make me feel guilty about 'selfishly' getting a body for myself, or something."

"So as long as you're alive, Penny stays dead?" Darwin asked.

"Yep." Carrie responded. She looked at Gumball; he didn't seem surprised in the least. She asked him about it.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I already pretty much knew about it. I pieced the clues together on my date with Penny. Y'know, Penny suddenly becomes a ghost like you after you get a body. Definitely had to be related."

"Wow. I'm genuinely impressed." Carrie said, wondering whether this cat had an ounce of intelligence after all. Suddenly, Carrie's father teleported in next to Carrie.

"Gumball! Good. And looks like Penny got here safely, as well." he said, looking above Gumball.

"Huh?" the three kids asked in unison.

"Penny can't be seen by mortals without a potion," he explained. "You know, like those ghosts that only rise on Halloween."

"So why haven't hands pulled her below the Earth?" Gumball asked, remembering his dream.

"Because she still technically belongs to this world. It's complicated – for now, let's just say she's in limbo. Neither dead, nor alive." He poofs in a potion. "Here, each of you take a drop of this. But _only _a drop, got it?" he said, passing the bottle to Carrie.

Carrie glared at them. "_Only _a drop," she repeated, popping a drop into her mouth. Gumball and Darwin did the same.

"Hey, guys." Penny said, smiling.

"Penny!" Gumball cried out happily. Carrie and Darwin smiled, too, glad to see their friend was all right.

"Hey, Gumball. Heckuva night, huh?" she said, blushing.

"Heh heh…" Gumball blushed, too.

"Wait guys, focus. Dad, so what's going on here?" Carrie asked.

"Right. Gumball…_you're _the one who created the Carrie and Penny duplicates." he said, pointing a finger at the blue cat.

Penny and Carrie looked at Gumball angrily. "Gumball! What did you do this time?" they said in unison.

"Me? I didn't do anything!" Gumball said, backing away. The two girls turned to Darwin, expecting an answer.

"Hey, I don't remember him creating Carrie or Penny duplicates! Though there is that one Penny statue in his closet…"

Penny blushed. Carrie slapped a palm to her forehead.

"Calm down. He didn't do it intentionally." Carrie's father said reasonably.

"Then how did he do it? And why?" Carrie asked.

Carrie's father motioned for them to come closer, and began explaining the events of the night.


	9. Zero Dark

**A/N: Another chapter! Thanks so much for reading this far! This chapter actually turned out pretty long. I guess that's a good thing - I've noticed that most of the more-liked fanfics have decently long chapters! I was actually hoping most chapters I wrote would be at least this long. But eh, next time I guess.**

**Also, the "Grimmel" is based off of the one in Arthur Goes Fourth lol.**

"You're under the effects of a _Khama-Dhatu_." Carrie's father explained.

"Karma whatsiz?" Gumball asked, confused.

"A _Khama-Dhatu_," he repeated. "For convenience's sake, we'll just call it a 'grimmel' for now. Grimmels are malicious spirits that possess people and bring their strongest desires to life. Of course, this comes with a price – the person's wish will be severely corrupted, in such a way that it doesn't provide the happiness they expected at all. Think of the man who wishes for a million dollars, only to be suffocated from the sea of bills when they magically appear around him."

Gumball thought for a moment. "So what did I desire to make this happen?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Carrie cut in. "You desired a kiss from Penny. As long as Penny was a ghost, she wouldn't be able to kiss you. Therefore, in order to kiss Penny, you needed her to get her body back. And as you had just pointed out, you were able to surmise that Penny couldn't get her body back while I still had one. So instead, the grimmel created copies of our previous forms and used them in an attempt to 'overwrite' us. Penny's mortal body erased her ghost form from existence, and the doppelgangers hunted me down and tried to kill me." Carrie explained. "Right dad?"

"Exactly, Carrie." he told his daughter. "Just one minor misconception: Penny wasn't erased from existence, she was just put in limbo. You see, the way ghosts and mortals work is-"

Penny cut him short. "We'll worry about the technical stuff later; right now, tell us how to _fix _this."

Carrie's father blushed. "Right. Sorry about that." He cleared his throat. "All I need is thirty minutes to prepare in my study. So just hang around here for a while, and _don't go anywhere_." he said, walking up the stairs.

"What do you need to do? Do you need any help?" Penny asked.

"No, I'm just setting up the ritual. You four stay put, and _be careful_ – the doppelgangers will likely try to stop us." He ducked into his study – occasional flashes could be seen from under the door.

The four kids sat in a tense silence, overwhelmed at the situation, and exhausted due to being up all night. Carrie was the first to speak.

"So…some day, huh?" she said sheepishly.

"Yeah…" the other three agreed.

"Carrie…I'm sorry for how I treated you. You were right – being a ghost is tough. To think that you feel this miserable every day…" Penny said from the bottom of her heart.

"Thanks, Penny. To be fair, though, being a mortal has its drawbacks, too…"

As the two girls made up, Gumball whispered to Darwin.

"So…how do you feel about this?" he asked.

"About what?"

"About Carrie having to go back to being a ghost. You know you won't be able to kiss her anymore, right?"

"…" Darwin looked stricken. He hadn't realized that once Carrie went back to being a ghost, she wouldn't be able to feel; she wouldn't be able to love, or kiss…

"Sorry for bringing it up, dude…" Gumball apologized, noticing how sad his best friend looked.

"It's fine…I'm fine with it. I'm sure we can make it work out." Darwin said sadly.

Gumball thought for a bit. "So…how many times did you two kiss?" he said, trying to lighten the situation.

"One big smooch on the lips, and maybe five on the cheeks." Darwin smiled, remembering that he'd at least have those to look back on.

An explosion shook the house violently.

"Whoa…!" the kids shouted, thrown off balance. It stopped abruptly.

"…think that came from my dad?" Carrie asked. The others looked unsure.

Suddenly, a hole opened up underneath her!

"AHHHH!" she screamed, flailing her arms and grabbing a piece of the floor to avoid falling off.

"Carrie!" Darwin rushed off to her aid. Gumball was about to follow, but a blast of glowing green energy struck Penny out of the air.

"Ouch!" she cried, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Penny!" Gumball changed directions to come to her aid. He kneeled at her side and scanned the room for the source of the blast. He found it – Carrie's doppelganger, floating above the fireplace. "Penny, are you all right? C'mon, we need to get out of here!" Gumball urged her.

"Uuuu…" Penny groaned. She was hurt pretty badly – she wouldn't be able to move. That meant Gumball had to fight…but how would he fight a ghost?

The answer came in the form of a bottle – in his pocket. "Sorry, Carrie…" he said, remembering the ghost's instructions to take only a drop. He downed the bottle as quickly as he could. In seconds, his spirit floated above his body and radiated with blue energy.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, looking at his glowing blue hands. He was able to manipulate this glow into energy, and fire it wherever he pleased. "This is awesome! But…how?" He looked at the bottle again. There was a label:

_1 drop: see dead people  
5 sips: BE a dead person  
Entire bottle: ghost powers_

"Awesome…" he whispered, making a mental note to ask Carrie for more ghost potion later – this was too cool! Another blast of green energy flew over his head, and he remembered where he was. He lunged at the enemy ghost, fully intending to obliterate it for hurting his girlfriend.

* * *

Back with Darwin…

"Someone! Help!" Carrie cried out, her grip loosening. She couldn't hold on any longer; her hand slid off. "AHHHH!" Luckily, a familiar orange hand caught her.

"M'lady…" Darwin said, beaming.

Carrie couldn't help but smile. She grabbed his other hand, and he pulled her up. "_My hero…_" she said, giving him another peck on the cheek.

Darwin glowed with happiness and pride. "That makes _six_…"

Suddenly, Penny's doppelganger landed right in front of them. Carrie looked horrified.

"Don't worry, Carrie, I've got this!" Darwin said, pushing Carrie behind him.

The Penny dopple lunged at him, swinging sideways at his fishy head; Darwin ducked and swept his right leg under her, a move he had learned from Mom. Unfortunately, the dopple rebounded faster than he expected, landing a solid kick on his chin as she backflipped away.

Darwin staggered backwards, crying out in pain. He was athletic, sure, but he'd never been in a fight. He was, in his words, a "paci-fish". This dopple was obviously a trained killer…

Darwin was still reeling in pain when the dopple continued its assault. A roundhouse kick to the side of the head, followed by an uppercut, both hits landing on target. Darwin struggled to stand – his vision was extremely blurry from having endured three consecutive hits to the head.

The dopple lunged forward again – this time, Darwin was more prepared. Using the agility he gained from swimming and running, he danced around the dopple's blows, and even countered with a few hits of his own. After ducking under one particularly extended blow, he shoved the dopple back. Seeing it fall backwards so far gave him a second wind. He quickly covered the distance between them and landed lightning-fast, standing kicks on the stunned dopple, knocking it into a wall. It fell.

Then, it stood again, looking more annoyed than in pain.

It was unreal – Darwin had one of the strongest pairs of legs in the entire school. To see the dopple brush it off like that was unnerving, to say the least. But Darwin wouldn't give up-_couldn't _give up. His girlfriend was in danger, and he had to protect her. With a resounding battle cry, he charged at the dopple; it did the same.

They met in the center of the room; Darwin kicked as hard as he could, with all the rage built up from Carrie's injuries, as well as his own. His kick connects, sending the dopple flying out the window.

Darwin heaved a sigh of relief. Though it most definitely wasn't dead, at least it was gone for now. Suddenly, a surge of pain overwhelmed him as the adrenaline from the battle wore off. Everywhere he got hit blasted out with pain. He lay on the ground, writhing.

Carrie walked up to him, hands over her mouth. "Darwin, are you all right?" He responded with strained, pained groans.

* * *

Back with Gumball...

Gumball lunged at the hostile ghost, glowing with blue energy. It sidestepped, and responded with two blasts. The first one missed; the second one hit Gumball dead on.

"Oof!" Gumball cried, the air getting knocked out of him. The second he recovered, three more green energy balls were flying at him. "AHHH!" Gumball shrieked, holding his hands up. To his surprise, blue energy solidified around him, blocking the blasts. "Hah!"

Gumball had no idea how to use his powers, but he knew he had to win – for Penny's sake. He held his hands out in front of him, visualizing a ball of blue energy, and hoping for the best. The dopple responded by charging up another two balls of energy.

After a few seconds, Gumball had created something. It wasn't a ball of energy like he expected; it was a sword. Gumball picked it up, feeling ripped off. The dopple, having had time to charge, combined the two balls into one and launched it at Gumball.

The blue cat panicked, and, unable to think of anything else to do, swung his sword at it. The slash reflected the ball right back at its caster and hit it dead on! The dopple was blasted into the ceiling. Gumball lunged at it and swung like a madman.

After he had tired himself out, he stood, panting. His heart sank as he saw what he hit (or rather, what he _didn't _hit). The ceiling crumbled to the ground, and the ghost stood, smirking. He had hit everything _except _the dopple. It charged up another blast and hurled it, point blank at Gumball. Gumball raised his arms again, forming another shield to protect him from the blast. The same could not be said of the dopple, though – the blast launched it through the hole Gumball created with his sword, and far off into the night.

When Gumball realized what he had done, he patted himself on the back. "Man, I'm good." He did a little trick with his sword, swinging it full circle. Unfortunately, it slices him in half, right around the waist. "Uh…" he stuttered, unsure of what to make of what happened.

He noticed Penny waking up. With the upper half of his body, he flies over to her.

"Penny! Are you okay?"

"Gumball…" she says slowly.

Gumball leaned over to look at the spot the blast hit her, but Penny grabbed the sides of his big blue head and pulled him in for a nice, long kiss.

"_Uuuhhh…heh…heh…"_ Gumball was dumbstruck.

"_That_ was for saving me," she said flirtatiously, giggling up a storm.

"_Ahhhhh…_" Gumball fainted, a glowing smile plastered on his face.

* * *

"Darwin…? Darwin, are you okay?" Carrie asked nervously. Her fishy friend was writhing a few seconds ago, but now he lay still. "Darwin…?" She was starting to get scared. She rolled him on his back and looked down on him. She rubbed his cheeks – one was swollen pretty bad, the other had blood on it.

Carrie couldn't help herself – tears flowed from her face, slowly at first, but increasing in speed and magnitude. Carrie had watched a ton of horror films; she felt like one of the survivors at the end, mourning the loss of another character.

"_Darwin…I'm so sorry…this is all my fault, I never should have begged you guys for a body…_" Carrie whispered. Her tears were soaking Darwin. "_Darwin…please don't die…please…I-I don't know what I'd do without you…" _She was practically sobbing by now.

Suddenly, Darwin stirred. Carrie froze. "Darwin…?"

In a flash, Darwin seized Carrie and screamed.

"AHHHH!"

"**AHHHHHH!**" Carrie couldn't help but scream herself, completely spooked. Darwin burst out laughing.

"That's **not **funny! I thought you were dead!" Carrie scolded him. When he just continued laughing, Carrie turned red and slugged him, _hard, _in the face.

"Ow ow ow!" Darwin yelled. "That hurt!"

"I thought you were **dead**." Carrie scolded, turning her back to him.

"Aw, c'mon, did you see the look on your face? It was hilarious!"

Carrie thought for a bit. It _was _a little humorous. She chuckled in spite of herself, but made sure Darwin didn't notice. "No it wasn't. Do you know how worried I was?" She was smiling, but kept a stern voice. An idea was forming in her brain.

"…No, I guess not. I'm sorry…how can I make it up to you?"

_Hook, line, and sinker! _Carrie thought. "How about another kiss…?"

Darwin enthusiastically agreed. "Okay!" he said, nodding emphatically.

"You sound a little happy for someone who's supposed to be getting punished…" Carrie teased, still keeping her stern voice.

"Um, uh, I mean _okay…_" Darwin repeated, sounding dejected.

"Okay, close your eyes…" she said, stifling a giggle. She picked up a piece of the fur rug that got shredded in the attack and pressed it against Darwin's lips. He was so in love that he didn't notice!

Carrie could barely contain her laughter. "Okay, open your eyes!" she said between giggles.

When he opened his eyes again, all he could see was some furry object. It took a few seconds to realize he was _kissing _said object. "EWW!" he cried, wiping the hair off his tongue.

"_That _was for making me worry." Carrie said, resuming her stern act.

"Oh c'mon, I said I was sorry!" Darwin sputtered.

"…and _this _is for everything else…" Carrie said, giving Darwin a long, passionate kiss on the lips.


	10. Zero Dark Thirty

**A/N: Almost done! I felt like I had waaaay too much kissing in this fic lol. But eh. The last few chapters might be a little short. **

The four kids met up near the center of the room. Gumball deposited a sleeping Penny onto the couch; Carrie did the same to Darwin, who had also dozed off. Then, they sat on opposite ends of the tea table.

In spite of the events of the past few hours, they smiled at one another.

"So…how was having a body?" Gumball asked casually.

"It was great." Carrie smiled. "It was like…like a relaxing vacation. Of course, all vacations must come to an end sooner or later…" she said wistfully.

Gumball just nodded in understanding.

"So how's being a ghost?" Carrie teased.

"It's also like a vacation," Gumball laughed. "Flying around is cool and all, but all the sadness and misery you feel…it's just weighs you down, you know?"

Carrie nodded. "You get used to it eventually, I guess…" She looked sad.

Gumball felt bad about bringing up the misery. He thought for a moment. "Say…how about I let you use my body once a week for two whole hours?" he suggested. "No junk food sprees though, okay?"

That cheered her up instantly. She nodded enthusiastically. "Sure! Thanks, Gumball!"

"I guess you'll have to hang out with Darwin, too…" a thought suddenly struck him. "**NO** making out while you're possessing me, got it?" he said, panicking.

Carrie just laughed. "I'll try…"

Gumball was about to retort when Carrie's father came out of his study, a potion in each hand. The one on his left was a disgusting mucous green; it represented disease and death. The one on his right was a vibrant, glittering red; it represented strength and life.

Darwin and Penny woke up and yawned.

"Here, drink these at the same time," he said, tossing the green potion to Carrie and the red one to Penny. "Carrie, the green one will turn you into a ghost; Penny, the red one will bring you back to life."

Carrie grimaced as she turned the bottle around in her hand. Not only because of how disgusting it looked, but because of how she wouldn't be able to kiss Darwin again…

Darwin noticed this and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry; I'll love you, body or no body!"

Carrie smiled. Reassured, she went on with the ritual.

She jumped towards Penny. "Ready when you are!"

"Cheers," Penny said, clanking bottles with Carrie. They both emptied their potions.

"Whoa…" Gumball and Darwin said in awe of the spectacle that unfolded around them.

The living room they were in melted, giving way to a sea of bright, shining stars. A fantastic blue and orange light emanated from the two girls, spreading like fire into space, the flames tickling the night sky; a glowing circle materialized beneath them, and with a blinding flash of light, returned them to the living room.

"Did it…work?" Gumball asked. He and Darwin were still recovering from the blinding light. They opened their eyes slowly to see…

Penny, a living thing, and Carrie, a ghost.

"Penny!" Gumball cried out, running to give her a hug. He forgot that he was still a ghost, though, so he went right through her. "Oops, hang on, I'll go get my body back!" he said, tripping over himself as he raced to his lifeless body. Penny laughed, a lively laugh, now that she had lungs and a diaphragm again.

Carrie, on the other hand, just looked at herself (or _through _herself, rather, since she was transparent). She looked in a mirror – nothing, just as she expected. She felt someone trying to put their hand on her shoulder.

"Carrie…" It was Darwin.

"Hey…" she said sadly. Would he dump her now that she didn't have that hot body anymore? Now that she couldn't kiss him anymore? Or hold him tenderly anymore?

"I hope you know…I'm hoping this doesn't change anything between us…"

Carrie lit up, but her face didn't show it, _couldn't _show it.

"I really like you…I've _always _really liked you, even when you were a ghost. I'd go so far as to say I maybe _love _you…So…I'm hoping we can stay boyfriend/girlfriend…"

"…" Carrie was silent.

"I thought you might say that…" Darwin said, turning to walk away. He felt that, since Carrie is an emo ghost again, she wouldn't want to hang out with a dorky, goodie-goodie fish like himself.

Suddenly, Carrie flew to Darwin, grabbed his cheeks, and gave him his fourth kiss of the night. To both of their amazement, it connected – Carrie felt his smooth, tender fish lips just as he felt her icy cold, ghostly ones. Her lips could feel like splinters for all he cared, he was just glad he felt it.

They looked at each other; words couldn't describe how happy each of them felt. Then again, they didn't need any - they could tell just by looking at each other.

Meanwhile, Gumball had just stepped into the mouth of his body and pulled it over him like a shirt.

"There, all better!" he said, feeling his arms and legs snap into place. "Huh?" he looked down and saw his tail.

Penny broke out laughing at the sight of it. "Gumball, over here!"

Gumball turned around. "Penny!" Ecstatic, he started running; unfortunately, since his head was on backwards, he instead ran backwards, right into the wall. Penny burst out laughing again and walked up to him herself. Gumball decided to just forcefully twist his head in the right direction. _Snap! _A sickening snap sound echoed through the room.

"Owww…" Gumball whispered, a tear in his eye. Penny looked a little disturbed, but smiled nonetheless. They joined hands. "Sooo…now that we know what ghost kissing is like, how about we try live kissing…?" he suggested meekly.

Penny responded by drawing him in for another long, passionate kiss.

* * *

Carrie's father surveyed the scene from a distance, switching between Gumball and Penny, and Darwin and Carrie. He sighed, reminiscing about himself as a young boy, and of his first love. Speaking of first loves…

"Hello, dear. What's going on? Experimenting with love potions?" Carrie's mother asked, taking note of the scene.

In response, he pulled her in and gave her a big kiss on the lips.

"W-what was that for?" she asked, cheeks red. It's been a while since her husband had done anything as spontaneous and romantic as that.

"Eh, everyone was doing it." he responded.


	11. Float On

Carrie watched the new girl walk the halls, but could hardly believe her eyes. Quietly, she followed her as she wandered around, looking for her homeroom.

It was the same as Carrie's.

They both walked in. She sat on the window column, in the middle rows. Carrie sat two seats behind her, so as to have a clear view.

_There's no denying it…_ Carrie thought.

Soon, Miss Simian walked in, looking grumpy as usual. She looked at her roster, and scanned the room, locking eyes with the second new addition to their class of the year.

"QUIET!" she yelled to shut up all the conversations going on. She tended to do that a lot. "Now, we have a new student joining us today. Would you please come up and introduce yourself?"

Shyly, the new girl walked to the front of the classroom, and turned to face her peers.

"H-hi! My name's Kimi, and I'm new here. Everything's sort of a daze right now – I'm not sure how I ended up here, but here I am!" she said, taking a small curtsy.

Carrie inspected Darwin as she gave her introduction. He looked bored as ever. When he noticed her staring at him, he waved. Carrie waved back, glad that he hadn't taken the bait.

The new girl walked back to her seat, and Miss Simian plunged into a lecture. Carrie was tempted to whisper to Kimi, but suppressed the urge.

She waited until after class to confront her. When the bell finally rang, she waited near the new girl's – Kimi's – locker.

"O-oh, hi!" Kimi said, noticing the ghost floating outside her locker. "Can I help you?"

"…I'm Carrie." Carrie introduced herself suddenly.

"I'm Kimi. I recognize you from homeroom! So, did you need anything from me?"

Carrie looked at her carefully, fully.

Her hair was black and tied into two short twin tails; she wore a red checkered coat with black skinny jeans and black converse shoes, giving her the look of a rebel; and her skin was a pinkish color, her complexion clear and beautiful.

…she looked just like Carrie did when she had a body.

Kimi felt uncomfortable with Carrie looking at her so intently. Carrie finally noticed, and apologized.

"Sorry, I was…feeling nostalgic…"

"What about?"

"…having a body."

Kimi raised an eyebrow. "You used to have a body?"

"It was a temporary thing. Lasted a good two days."

"Oh…I'm sorry for your loss…"

"I'll get over it."

An awkward silence hung between the two.

"Well, I'd better get to class. Was nice chatting with you!" Kimi said cheerfully, turning to leave.

"Wait." She stopped.

Carrie thought for a second. She reminisced about the sweet sensation of having a body, of feeling, tasting, eating…_loving_…

She knew that if she possessed that body, it would be just as though she still _had _a body. After all, it was the exact same body she used, right?

But…

"Nothing, sorry. I'd better get going to class, too…"

Carrie fought the urge to possess her.

Kimi nodded and skipped off.

Carrie stood in silence for a minute.

Soon, silence turned to laughter. She laughed and laughed and laughed…laughed so hard, in fact, that she started crying. This confused her – she touched her cheeks, which were wet with tears.

_Am I happy, or am I sad? _she thought to herself. She honestly couldn't tell.

_Ahh, what does it matter, anyway? _She shrugged, still thinking to herself. She whistled a happy tune, and started floating on.

**-=****{THE END}****=-**

**Thanks so much for reading!**


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